Protecting You Isn't Easy
by Olamach
Summary: She has to protect the boy who had began to torment her recently, of course it wasn't going to be easy. She never guessed she would end up seeing the truly broken boy behind all that calm.


**R&R**

Tori looked out of the car window at the fairly large building, also called Hollywood Arts, her expression one of utter lack of interest. The girl wouldn't even be going to this school if it weren't for her sister, who had literally begged her to audition because quote: "Tori, we're like uh, sisters and we've barely spent any time together in ten years!" Tori couldn't understand how that was her fault, if anything it was their mother's fault who had ran off to LA with Trina's father even though she had been married to Tori's father. The girl wished her father wasn't in love with Holly still, then maybe her being uprooted from her home to go live with 'family' wouldn't have happened.

It had happened, and here Tori was as a result of it, in LA, with a clingy mother, a love father, and a conceited sister, not to mention all the wannabe actors and singers. The worse is being forced to go to a school with them, - all the attention-whores.

"I'm like really popular here Tori, so don't mess up my reputation." Trina said glancing at her, taking a break from fixing her makeup in the car's rearview mirror. "You would be way prettier if you wouldn't, uh… scowl all the time."

Tori rolled her eyes. "Thanks Trina, a lot." The younger girl reached for her door handle.

"I'm really happy you and your dad are here, Tori." Trina said going back to fixing her makeup. "I missed having a sister."

Tori gently sighed. She guessed she could be nicer to her sister. "Thanks Trina, but I think we're going to be late."

Tori was looking for her first class, lost after being ditched by Trina for some hot guy. She closely studied her schedule as she walked, unsure of which way to go. She was walking around a corner when she ran right into someone.

Great… How cliché is this… oh wait look, it's a guy I ran into…. Oh look he's hot… What am I in a stupid tween movie? At least, the girl thought with sarcastic happiness, she hadn't very dramatically fallen to the floor and had to picked up in his big strong arms and carried away to the nurses office.

Instead she very slowly dusted herself off, watching unimpressed as the guy hissed and pulled at his shirt which was covered in coffee. The hall had gone completely quiet - odd. Tori glanced around finding mostly everyone watching, a few people whispering and pointing.

What in the…

"You should be more careful." He finally spoke glancing up at her as he continued to tug at his shirt. The boy didn't exactly look angry, but the way he had said what he had said made her on edge.

"I guess I can say that for you as well." The audience actually gasped. Tori frowned. The boy smiled, his lips pulling back to show very white teeth. He ran a clean coffee free hand through a thick mane of brown hair.

"You must be new." He nodded slowly, his eyes going around the hall. "I'm Beck Oliver." There was a moment of pause as if he was expecting her to give her name, Tori only raised an eye brow. "I see, well, I think you owe me an apology."

"Oh?"

He lightly smiled again. "You see, this shirt it costs a good bit of money and you ruined it."

"Really, that, you mean you paid a lot of money for that in particular shirt?" Tori snorted. "I could just get you another one, I saw a similar shirt at bargain barn."

Beck's tanned face actually paled, and his brown eyes seemed to grow darker. He looked, angry. Then the look was gone a second later replaced by his fake grin. "Yes, I guess an apology was to much to ask for." He then nodded once before walking around her and disappearing into the crowd which parted for him.

Tori frowned at the lingering crowed who were all staring at her. Annoyed, she moved forward as the crowd parted for her as well. She heard a few things like:

"I give her a week."

"I give her a day."

"She totally messed up, and she has no idea."

"I feel bad for her."

Tori ignored the comments even though they confused her quite a bit, but honestly she wasn't very worried. She was in a less crowded part of Hollywood Arts when someone called out to her.

"You're very brave."

It was a boy, with a mess of black curls for hair, tall, skinny, and gawky looking. He was leaning against a row of lockers she had just went by. His leg slipped from the uniquely decorated lockers and he lost his balance and almost fell. He laughed sheepishly.

Tori stared at him for a while then shrugged. "Why am I brave…"

"Oh, I'm Robbie." He glanced around, looking suddenly nervous. "You're brave because you insulted Beck Oliver!" He whispered.

"Beck…" Tori mumbled then remembered that was the guy who had ran into her. "I don't get it."

The boy moved his glasses around nervously. "I'm only warning you because I think your pretty. You insulted a very power person, the most wanted and richest guy at Hollywood Arts… maybe in all of LA! He's dangerous…" He trailed looking around. "That's all I can tell you." He then turned and ran away down the hall.

"Seriously…?" Tori mumbled.

Eventually Tori found Sikowitz's class, her first class. Robbie was in that class as well, she could have asked him. She was a few minutes late but the balding, barefoot teacher only hurried her and sat her in a seat in the very front. The man then began teaching about improve and as soon as he turned around to write on the board, she was hit by multiple balls of paper.

"What in the…!" The girl yelled and stood turning around to face the class of innocent looking people.

"Tori Vega, is there anything wrong?" The teacher asked staring at her as if she was the one barefoot and wearing odd clothes.

"They," she motioned towards the class. "Threw paper balls at me." Then she motioned towards all the balled up paper around her.

"Class…"

"She's lying!" Some girl called out and everyone agreed.

Tori gawked disbelieving at them.

"It's not good to lie, Tori." Sikowitz said slowly.

"I'm not!" Tori looked around, spotting Robbie looking everyplace but her. "Ask Robbie,"

"Robbie? Did you see anyone throw paper balls at, Tori?"

Robbie looked nervous and gave Tori an almost apologetic look, "no."

"What!" Tori nearly shouted. "Oh come on… Is this about that Beck guy?" She looked around at everyone, no one would look at her.

The next three classes went by exactly like the first one. When the teacher turned his/her back she would get hit by paper balls, in the halls she would be tripped, no one would talk to her. She was happy for lunch which meant her awful day was half-way over.

She was tugged into a storage closet on her way down the hall to lunch. She opened her mouth to scream, thinking it was one of her many haters only to find Trina staring at her, eyes wide.

"You insulted Beck Oliver!" The older girl cried. "What were you thinking!"

Tori sighed, " I dunno… God Trina, what's going on?"

"You messed up!" Trina shouted unhelpfully. "Don't tell we are… uh, sisters." Tori gawked at her. "I'm sorry Tori, but you have to understand." Then the older girl was sliding out of the closet without another word.

Tori gently shook her head. Hollywood Arts students had lunch at the asphalt café, and Tori was simply happy to get food. She ordered a turkey sandwich and looked around for a table, ignoring the looks people were giving her. None of the tables looked very inviting. Then her eyes spotted a table with Robbie at it and a few other people, the boy hadn't been much help to her earlier but he was seriously the nicest being to her at Hollywood Arts.

As soon as she took a seat, two of the folks got up and left, leaving Robbie behind and a red headed girl, both who looked at her nervously.

Tori sighed. "You don't have to talk to me." The girl mumbled. Robbie and the girl shared a look.

"Hi, I'm Cat." The girl said smiling happily, but nervously. "You're Tori Vega, everyone is well…" She giggled, which literally stopped a second later when the Beck Oliver walked by, his arm slung over a black haired pale girl as they moved by the table. A boy with dreads accompanied them.

"Robbie, Cat, Tori," Beck greeted politely on his way by. The girl he had his arm around laughed oddly.

"I'm finished, were finished!" Robbie whined when they were out of ear shot. "All because I wanted to be nice!" He covered his face.

"Oh stop being a baby." Cat laughed but looked nervous.

"I can leave if that'll make things better." Tori offered watching the group take a seat a few tables away, Beck glanced at her and smirked.

"Please!" The glasses wearing boy exclaimed but Cat lightly hit him on the arm.

"No Tori you can sit with us. We have to be nice to everyone." The girl told Robbie.

Tori smiled at Cat. "I still don't understand what's going on."

"Beck runs this school, along with Jade and Andre. The girl and boy with him." Cat explained with a shrug. "They can make your life miserable, they will."

Robbie was crying, "I…" He quietly sniffed, Cat lightly patted his head.

"It's serious then…" Tori quietly said.

Then, she felt a hot liquid slid down her back and she yelped standing up. The whole courtyard burst out in laughter. Tears sprang into the corner of her eyes as she turned to face the boy who had wasted, coffee on her. As soon as she turned around a drink was poured on her head.

"I thought you needed cooling off." A cruel voice laughed.

Tori's insides raged as she opened her eyes, she moved away from the table blinded by rage and stomped over to the table with the innocent looking Beck and his amused friends.

"Make them stop." She growled. "I'm not going to run away and cry like you want me too, make them stop, if not I'll…"

"You'll what?" He interrupted leaning forward looking her directly in the eye. Then, he let out a sigh. "I have no idea what your talking about Tori."

She angrily poked him in his shoulder and his eyes widened in surprise. "I don't care who you are, but if you don't…"

He batted her hand away from him and stood. "Keep your hands off of me." He glared.

She glared back. She then poked him again forcefully, "Stop it Oliver, stop your stupid games with you stupid lackeys. I swear I'll make you pay."

He laughed.

"Tori!" Trina yelled over the courtyard's quietness as she ran to her and gripped her by the arm. "Come on, Tori… don't you have to be…at that thing…" The older girl began dragging her away.

Tori did cry, alone in a bathroom stall and skipped her last classes. Trina wanted to try out for a play, which left her having to call her father for a ride home after school.

**R&R**


End file.
